Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train
by MandoCommander
Summary: A short story fic for Halloween. When the Mystery Twins and their friends decide to take a venture into the long abandoned and seemingly deserted Gravity Falls train station, they soon find more than they bargained for. Daring adventure and intriguing mystery are this train's stops. So all aboard, and keep your nerves and tickets ready. Rated for spooky scenes and some crude humor.
1. Chapter 1: Evening at the Shack

Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

This is a short story fic as a spinoff for my continuing Gravity Falls series and in honor of Halloween. When the Mystery Twins and their friends decide to take an after dark venture into the long abandoned and seemingly deserted Gravity Falls train station, they soon find more than they bargained for. A local folk tale comes to reality right before their eyes, and if Dipper and Mabel have learned anything this summer in this town, it's that things are not always as they seem. Daring adventure and intriguing mystery are the stops on this train. So all aboard, and have your nerves and tickets ready…

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls**

Chapter 1: Evening at the Shack

It was a cool summer evening in August for Gravity Falls in central Oregon. Business was slow as was typical for a Sunday. In the museum gift shop inside the Mystery Shack, Dipper was busy reading through the second of Ford's journals, finally having an opportunity to read the first and second one since the revelation they were in the shack since before the author returned. Mabel was playing with Waddles on the floor, and Wendy was laid back in her usual spot behind the counter reading a magazine and occasionally texting Tambry on her smartphone.

"Mabel, didn't Grunkle Stan tell you to keep Waddles out of the gift shop? You know he'll chew on anything he can fit in his mouth." Dipper warned his twin sister as he caught the girl and her pig in the corner of his eye.

"Aww, but Waddles likes it in here cause I'm in here!" Mabel chimed with her typical grin as she rubbed her pig's belly, causing him to squeak in delight.

"He blew his top last time he came in here and saw Waddles chewing on the Stan bobble heads. Maybe you should listen to Dipper." Wendy suggested upon briefly looking up from her magazine.

"Since when have you two cared about what Grunkle Stan thinks?" Mabel asked, looking over to face both of her human companions.

"Good point" Dipper and Wendy both replied in unison before looking back down to their reading material.

Outside the shack at in the woods along the dirt road that was used for the outside tours Stan gave, said old con man and his faithful handy man were doing maintenance at the stop by the totem pole, Soos having been cleaning the inside of the portable toilet. He stepped out the door to the plastic stall clearly tired but satisfied at a job well done, spray bottle low on cleaner still in his left hand with the grime-caked sponge in his right. He called to Stan who was on his knees plucking weeds near the pole.

"Mr. Pines! I scrubbed the inside clean like you asked! All done!"

"That thing's been in need of some service for months, I'll check it myself to be sure you didn't miss anything." Stan stood up and headed over, setting down the hand digger and the plastic bag he was holding. He added, "Almost done over here, let's finish up and get back to the shack. If you're staying for dinner we're having fish, caught it myself this morning." Stan opened the door and finished by congratulating his eager employee while he stepped inside, the door shutting behind him, "Not bad, not bad at all. Almost looks like new in here!"

"Thanks, Mr. Pines! And yeah, I'll stay for dinner! You said you caught the fish yourself?" Soos asked his boss. Stan replied from inside the stall.

"Yeah, stupid bear thought he had it but I showed him whose boss! You can't outwit Stan Pines!" As Stan bragged about his manliness out of the dense woodland came said bear, right over towards the portable toilet. Soos quickly noticed and spoke up, worried for his boss but not ready to take on the large beast.

"Ummm, Mr. Pines, I think you need to come back outside…"

"You should have seen it, I laughed right at his dumbfounded bear face! That's the right of a winner! Hahaha!" At this point the bear was at the stall and placed both forearms and paws directly on the side of it.

"Mr. Pines!"

It was too late, with a look of complete frustration on his face, the bear knocked the portable toilet directly over onto its side, Stan's surprised yelp cut short by a gushing noise, and the odor that came with it wafting out of the plastic stall. With a growl of satisfaction, the bear turned and left, departing back into the forest, leaving Soos to look at the fallen stall with a mix of shock and worry.

"Mr. Pines? Are you okay?"

Clearly struggling to come to grips with what just happened, Stan cried out from inside in both his own shock, and disgust, "Oh… oh God… it's everywhere… and all over me! Oh God! Soos! Go get me a change of clothes and lots and lots of soap! Hurry!"

"Right away, Mr. Pines! I'm on it!" Soos hurriedly ran back towards the shack. Stan spoke to himself once his handyman was gone.

"Why did this happen? I completely don't deserve this!"

As Soos made his way towards the shack, the clock turned six and Wendy was the first to notice, taking off her nametag and telling her younger friends, "Quittin' time! Looks like I'll see you dudes tomorrow."

"Bye, Wendy!" Mabel smiled.

"Later, Wendy" Dipper did likewise as he looked up from the journal. As Wendy neared the door, she got another text from Tambry. Checking it, she turned to show the twins and inform them.

"Hey guys, Tambry, Nate, Lee, Thompson, and Robbie invited me to go with them tomorrow night to the old train station outside Main Street. They suggested I bring you two along, it'll be so cool! We've been planning to check that place out all summer! Say you'll come with!"

"A new experience? Count this girl in!" Mabel agreed immediately. Dipper had some reservations, however.

"I don't know, Wendy. Remember the last time we snuck into an empty old building? Pretty sure Thompson is still in therapy over it, isn't he?"

"Come on, dude. This may be our last chance to do something all together as a group before summer is over." Wendy tried to persuade the boy. Mabel gave her own thoughts as well as she stood up, picking up Waddles in her arms.

"Yeah, bro-bro, and besides, it's not like every empty old building in this town can be haunted, right?"

Dipper thought more for a moment before giving a light smile and answering, "Okay, I'm in". Mabel turned back to Wendy to ask her something with a typical wide smile.

"Can I bring Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica with us?"

"Sure, the more the better! We leave after closing time tomorrow. I'll see you two in the morning." And with that Wendy walked out the door to head home. The sun was getting closer to twilight. Off in the distance in the deep woods outside of the town, along the rusted remains of the old train tracks, cluttered with overgrowth from years of neglect and occasional litter, a faint but present whistle of a locomotive horn sounded in the distance.

Will be continued soon…


	2. Chapter 2: All Aboard

Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

Chapter 2: All Aboard

After closing time at the Mystery Shack the following evening, Dipper and Mabel got ready to leave with Wendy and the teens, and with a knock on the front door they greeted Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica.

"Girls, you made it!" Mabel cheered after Dipper opened the door. All four young girls shared a group hug.

"We are excited to be here and go exploring with you guys. Who knows when we'll get another chance?" Candy told the twins.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world! One last epic summer adventure!" Grenda exclaimed in her deep voice.

"I'm glad you guys invited me, to be honest. I… wasn't sure if I would be welcome on one of your adventures." Pacifica admittedly shyly.

"The past is in the past, Pacifica. We're all friends here." Dipper told her gently with a light smile, which the young blonde returned.

"All right, we just got to let Grumble Stan know we'll be gone for a while." Mabel informed their friends.

"Yeah, you guys head around to the parking lot by the gift shop door. Wendy and her friends are out there around Thompson's van. We'll meet you there." Dipper added. Once they closed the front door the twins headed back into living room to tell Stan they were leaving, and said old shark peddler was busy watching wrestling.

"Yes! Go for the headlock! Make him eat the floor! I'm not wasting my night at all!"

"Uhhh… Stan, Mabel and I are going out with Wendy and the rest of our friends to the old train station by Main Street. We'll be back before it gets too late." Dipper tried to tell his grunkle.

"What he said!" Mabel added. Stan however remained invested in the television and only caught pretty much every other word.

"Yeah, yeah, you're going with Benny to the gold Claymation on Bane Creek. Have fun and all that junk." And with that the twins left the building to meet up with their friends outside in the parking lot.

"Ugh, nobody told me we'd be babysitting." Robbie griped at the sight of the younger youth. Before any of them could respond, Wendy interjected.

"Lighten up, Robbie. One of them set you up with your current girlfriend, remember?"

Robbie glanced over at Tambry and the two teens exchanged a light smile before the former replied, "Yeah, okay" Once everyone said their hellos and few minutes of conversation, everyone got into the van and they were off to the old train station, which stood on a hill not far from town hall, albeit partially obscured thanks to a thicket of forest that had begun to reclaim the land around the abandoned site. Dipper was the first to speak as Thompson struggled to parallel park on the street along the bottom of the hill.

"I've read up on this place. Apparently it's been empty since the early 1930's when the railroad industry stopped serving Gravity Falls during the Great Depression"

"Uh-oh, nerd alert!" Mabel teased her brother and caused most everyone else in the van to laugh as they began to exit the vehicle. The Northwest girl jumped in, however.

"Aw come on, leave him alone. That nerd brain has come in handy more than once." The young blonde chanced a glance at Dipper and the two exchanged a sheepish blush with a smile.

The old train station was as described to Dipper in his online research, largely untouched since closing day over eighty years prior. The rectangular wooden structure with a stone foundation was at best struggling to keep itself in one piece after decades of neglect. The wooden boards that formed the outside walls that once were gleaming in light yellow paint were now almost completely faded bare. Some of them were either loose from lack of maintenance or falling apart simply from rotting away. The thatched tile roof was in worse shape, gaping holes exposing sections of the building to the sky as the sun faded in the distance. The glass windows were all in some degree of a sorry state, some with broken holes in them while others completely shattered out, leaving only fragments of glass jutting from the frames. The twin front doors were bolted shut, but a broken down side door exposed a way inside on the left of the building. It is directly near the passenger deck on the opposite side beside the rusted tracks. Graffiti and litter also caked the structure and surrounding land, abuse from previous trespassers. Thick, tall grass almost fully obscured the cobblestone steps up the hill, which were themselves broken up with loose or missing stones and weeds and grass breaking up through cracks in pathway. As the group walked up the steps toward the building, an equally worn down sign barely had enough of its paint left to spell out the name of the place, " _Coastal Express Railways East Central Station"_.

Once the teens and youngsters stepped inside, they marveled at the sight. Wendy tried flipping the light switch on a rusted box built into the wall behind the ticket counter, but just as was to be expected, no active power lines remained connected to the building. Almost everything was caked in a layer of dust throughout the rooms, which included the main lobby, restrooms, janitor closet, engineer storage, manager office, mail room, ticket counter and storage room behind it, and the waiting area connected to the lobby that led to the passenger deck out the twin back doors, which were also broken open. Twin nickelodeon machines stood to the right of the front doors, rusted ceiling fans remained in place along the ceilings, old rotary phones still stood on the ticket counter and the desk in the office, and a small number of dead mail remained untouched in the mail room in the labeled bin. Wooden benches scattered throughout the building were in mixed states, some still intact, others broken from vandalism. Litter was in virtually every room, showing the disrespect from those who broke in the abandoned building beforehand.

Once the group had finished looking the place over, they met in the waiting area. At this point the sun had completely set, the moon and the stars the new light in the sky. Lee was the first to speak, "Okay, guys, the convenience store was totally more fun to break into."

"Yeah, I mean, this is just an old dust pile. I don't see what all the hype is about." Nate agreed.

"It wasn't a total waste of time. Candy, Grenda, and I got one of the old nickelodeon machines out front working. It just needed some spare change! It was called, _"_ _Happy Day at the Docks_ " Mabel chimed in.

"It showed some guys loading alcohol off a boat, then getting beat up by cops with nightsticks, who then arrested them and kept the liquor for themselves." Candy informed the group. Dipper replied after getting the visual in his head.

"Prohibition. Dark, hypocritical times for America…"

"Let's see if we can get the other one to work" Lee said as he pulled out a coin from his pocket and went over to the second machine, which was labeled along the side, _"_ _Trollips of Suffrage"_. The teen got it working just like the other and looked down the viewport to see the aged, black and white silent film.

"Oh yeah… she's protesting for her rights! You dirty girl, you break all the rules don't you?" The girls in the group merely rolled their eyes at this.

"Well I think we might as well leave, doesn't seem to be anything else worth doing in this lame old place." Robbie suggested.

"Yeah, might as well." Wendy agreed.

At that moment, a bright light shined through the windows on the back right end of the building, and the rumbling of steel wheels on the rusted tracks vibrated through the room. A collective gasp subsided as an acoustic blast sounded off clear as day, loud and close. It was the whistle of a locomotive. It sounded a second time as the rumbling and vibrations intensified.

"What the hell? What is that?!" Robbie got out, just as startled as the rest.

"It's a train! Or sure sounds like it… but that shouldn't be possible!" Dipper exclaimed with equally wide eyes.

The shock the collective youth felt was quickly replaced with pure disbelief as a jet black steam locomotive engine with a bright headlight shining on the front screeched to a halt just outside the back doors on the passenger deck, carrying a matching tender loaded with coal immediately behind, and a long line of passenger cars behind that, all of them painted dark green with red lines alone the middle with the windows, and chrome steel roofs. Painted in gold letters throughout the side of the entire train, on the engine cab, the tender, and the passenger cars spelled out the words, _"_ _Coastal Express Railways"_. And in the same color on the engine and tender beneath the name were the letters " _Engine 36"_. While engine steam seemed to billow out from the engine between the wheels and forward funnel, a misty fog surrounded the entire train, wafting forth into the station and surrounding forest. It was so thick a clear view of the engine cab was obscured, leaving no sign of who or what was driving. The lights were on in all of the passenger cars, albeit dimly and eerily. The whistle sounded again, louder than before. The group kept their wide eyes on the train as they slowly began to back away.

"Let's get out of here!" Lee shouted.

"Yeah, like now!" Pacifica added.

The youth turned to flee in terror when in an instant the entire station burst into flames, the ceiling, walls, and furniture all engulfed within a moment, and the flames quickly blocking the way back to the front and sides of the building, trapping the group in the back with the train. The screeching of metal crashing against metal and flying shards of the same material came from the flames, crashing through the walls and windows. Shouting and screaming in terror, everyone ran out the back doors as the flames began creeping towards them, hurriedly boarding one of the passenger cars and prying the door open to take refuge inside. The whistle blew a third time, and the engine started pumping out more smoke as the wheels began to turn again, the mysterious train rolling off and away from the burning station, now completely covered in the raging inferno. Soon only the red-orange glow of the burning rubble could still be seen in the distance, the train steaming away from the town and out into the dark woods under the shadow of the night.

Will be continued soon…


	3. Chapter 3: The Skeleton Crew

Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

 _"Not all who wander are lost"_ \- Anonymous

Chapter 3: The Skeleton Crew

Inside one of the passenger cars on the mysterious train operating on rails that supposedly hadn't seen use in decades, Dipper, Mabel, and the rest of their group struggled to catch their breath. Eventually they all took seats on the benches, finding it hard to keep standing as the train rolled and rattled down the tracks. Now several miles outside of Gravity Falls, the train continued onward at an alarmingly fast pace. The dimly-lit interior of the car revealed wooden benches on both sides along the windows with padded, red fabric seating. Dark green and gold wallpaper, peeling and ripped off in some spots, adorned the walls. Matching carpet in a similar sorry state covered the floor. Four small brass chandeliers hung bolted from the ceiling, all functioning and providing just enough light to reveal the interior to the unwilling passengers.

"How is this happening? No train has gone through town in years!" Wendy exclaimed sharply once she collected her wits.

"If this is some kind of sick prank, it's not funny." Tambry echoed her friend's sentiment.

"Anything in that journal, brother? Cause that would be good right about now." Mabel asked Dipper who sat at her side on the bench, looking through the second journal which he had brought with him. Finally opening the right page, the boy held it up for all to see.

"Right here, Great Uncle Ford wrote about this in here! 'Beware the mysterious Ghost Train of Gravity Falls!' ugh, figures it's near the back of the thing and I haven't gotten that far yet! It warns of a phantom train that still travels the closed-off railroad that goes right through the town." Using the trusty black light he kept in his jacket, Dipper attempted to check for any hidden details written in the invisible ink, but to the boy's dismay the only phrase was, _"_ _Have not been able to successfully board yet"_.

"My dad used to tell me this ghost train story when I was little. It used to creep me out a bit, but I was convinced it was all a myth. I guess I should know better by now. This has been a summer of non-stop weird and crazy" Wendy told the twins.

"Yes, I think this train may be that one from the story! It would make perfect sense, however unreal it seems." Candy added.

"It's a local creepy myth, supposed to freak kids out. This ghost train that travels the old railroad. It was supposed to be a story! I never actually believed any of it!" Pacifica was startled at the realization.

"Uhh… guys…" Nate interrupted everyone's thoughts to point out a new arrival had entered the car without a single noise. No one had seen or heard the doors open on either end of the car. The man was an African American male of middle age, wearing the black suited uniform of a railroad conductor and sporting a thick mustache. His eyes lacked any pupils, they were just bare and plain white. He spoke calmly to the youthful passengers and their wide eyes.

"Welcome aboard the Coastal Express Gold Line. Tickets, please."

Dipper was the first to speak, shock replaced by confusion, "Umm, we don't have any tickets…"

"That is impossible. Nobody makes it aboard without a ticket. Now show them to me if you please." The man pressed, not fazed by the ragged and confused state of the unwilling passengers.

"We really don't have… wait, what?" Mabel reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a ticket marked, _"_ _Coastal Express Gold Line: Round Trip Pass: East Central Station_ ". The others reached into their own pockets, their surprise and confusion increasing as they too pulled out matching tickets. Mabel slowly offered hers to the conductor, who took it and punched it, handing it back to her once it was done.

"Very good, miss. Don't lose it, you'll need it again later. I see all of you have round trip tickets. You will each receive a complimentary meal along with it, shortly. Now, who's next?" The conductor went from one to the next, punching holes in each ticket and handing back to them in the same orderly fashion, his plain expression never faltering. Once his work was done, he began to walk to the back of the car and to the door the youth entered from. Dipper called out, wanting the questions everyone was thinking to be answered.

"Hey… who are you? What's going on here? What happened back there?"

"My name is Hudson, and I have been the conductor for this particular train for a long, long time. And you are our passengers, the first in a good while as well. That is all I can say, I am afraid. Please enjoy the ride, and now the chef will stop by to gather your orders shortly. I will return later for the tickets, again." And with that, the conductor departed without another word. After a minute of silence, Thompson spoke up.

"I say we get off this thing as soon as we can!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" Robbie agreed.

"We don't even know when or where this train will stop." Dipper reminded everyone.

"Anywhere has to be less creepy than here." Grenda replied. After another minute passed, the back door opened again, and an Asian man of mid-thirties in age to the conductor walked in. His eyes also lacked pupils, and his white uniform and chef's hat immediate gave him away as to who he was. He carried a collection of folded pamphlets under his left arm. He addressed the group in well spoken English, albeit with an accent.

"Welcome aboard, the conductor informed me each of you has a round trip ticket. Please look over these menus and let me know what you would like." He handed the youth a menu one by one and patiently waited as they hesitantly looked them over. Pacifica spoke up first.

"This four cheese and marinara rigatoni sounds good. I'll have that if you don't mind."

"Of course, miss. Might I have your name?" The chef asked as he took her menu back.

"Pacifica Northwest, and yours?" The young blonde girl asked. The chef's calm expression dropped, his bare eyes wide at her words.

"Did you say, Northwest? As in the Northwest family in Gravity Falls?"

"Yes, I'm their daughter. Something wrong?" Pacifica had little time to ponder the implications, for the chef began to tremble, his empty eyes glowing as his face contorted.

"Northwest… A Northwest here after all this time… finally… we can have our revenge!" Reaching out his right hand after dropping the menu to the floor, the chef summoned a meat cleaver into his grip out of thin air. Lunging at the blonde girl, everyone including her jumped up at the sudden, violent change in the man. Pacifica shrieked as she ran down the aisle and away from her attacker, who immediately gave chase after her. The others quickly joined the pursuit in Pacifica's defense.

"You leave her alone! What the heck is this about?!" Dipper demanded. Summoning glowing white light in his left hand, the chef turned back briefly to telekinetically levitate the rest of group off the floor and hurl them back before resuming his chase of the young girl, who had opened the front door of the car and summoned the courage to leap over the space between her and the next car in front, over the exposed tracks and connector winch locking both cars together. The enraged chef was right on her trail. Dipper was out the door as well as soon as the two entered the next one, and quickly thinking, he climbed up the service ladder to the roof of the car and ran across it as best he could while trying to keep balance, attempting to head them off.

The others attempted to give chase back down in the cars, only for the conductor and another to block their path. This new face was also of mid-thirties in appearance with the same eyes without pupils, Hispanic with facial stubble and in a white shirt caked in oil and coal stains with blue overalls in a similar condition. The conductor addressed the group.

"None of you are going a step further. We cannot allow it."

Leaping down into the coal in the tender, Dipper quickly found himself face to face with Pacifica, who jumped in as soon as she cleared the front door to the most forward passenger car. Holding hands, the duo made their way further toward the engine, finally jumping down into the cabin and alone with the man in charge of the entire train. The engineer operating the boiler and controls stood with his back to them, though the sudden bounding of the two kids into his workspace certainly alerted him to their presence. He wore a light brown duster coat caked in coal dust, and a black riding hat. Turning to face the duo, he revealed himself to be a middle-aged Caucasian male with brown hair and a black eyepatch over where his left eye used to be. His right eye was exactly like the eyes of his crew, without a pupil and all white. Looking down at Dipper and Pacifica, he spoke in a stern but controlled voice, his eye beginning to glow.

"You shouldn't be here…"

At this point, the enraged chef was making his way atop the coal in the tender, his own eyes glowing as well with the cleaver gripped tightly in his hand. The engineer summoned a fire and maintenance poleaxe in his own right hand. The two crewmen moved closer to the duo, who had nowhere left to run on the train which continued to roll down the tracks under the night sky.


	4. Chapter 4: That One Day

Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

 _"_ _No day shall erase you from the memory of time"_ \- Virgil

Chapter 4: That One Day

As both crewmen neared Dipper and Pacifica with their weapons drawn, the younger duo held onto each other out of instinct, but their fright was quickly joined by confusion as the engineer merely passed through them to block the chef instead. Both men stared each other down with scrunched and serious pale while eyes. The chef clamored in his rage.

"Let me go! She's a Northwest! A Northwest!"

"Really? After all this time…" The engineer locked back at the confused and terrified faces of the kids behind him.

"Yes! So let me go! Her family is the reason we're were! We deserve vengeance!" The chef refused to relent.

"Yes, it's true, they are the reason we're trapped here, but look at her! She's just a child, a child! We didn't take lives that day, we did our jobs and kept people safe! Remember, she's not the one who did this to us. Remember, my old friend… remember…" The engineer talked his enraged crewman down, whose expression dropped back to normal, then sorrow.

"Right… you're right… I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me…"

"We both know what came over you. It's eating away at all of us, but we just need to remember who we are. We are men, not monsters." Turning back to the younger duo, the engineer addressed them in a softer but still serious tone, "I'm sorry you had to see that. We've been trapped in purgatory on this train for over a hundred and twenty five years now and it's been tearing down our sanity as time goes on."

"Who are you? What's this all about?" Dipper demanded once he collected his thoughts.

"My name is Isaac Jones, veteran railroad engineer and the one in charge of this train. Have been far longer than I was when we were all alive."

"So it's true… you're all ghosts and this is a ghost train." Pacifica interjected.

"That is correct. And as to how and why… well I believe it is only proper we explain ourselves after what you two have been through…"

 _The engineer began to tell the story behind the train and why it, himself and his crew were all ghosts wandering the railroad over a hundred years after their deaths. He revealed the entire company that owned the train and the railroad, Coastal Express Railways, was a corporation bought by the wealthiest man in Gravity Falls and the supposed town founder, Nathaniel Northwest. As a young, thriving boomtown on a mining and lumber industry, Gravity Falls needed a proper train route for both passengers and cargo, and thus the Gold Line was formed. Offering spectacular service and quality gourmet dishes, passengers near and far enjoyed their trips on the Gold Line, always pulled by Engine 36 and crewed by none other than Isaac and his men, the freed former slave and now conductor, Jacob Hudson, and two men new to the young state of Oregon who originally came from outside the country, a Hispanic immigrant from south of the border named Hugo Rivera, who became the train's mechanic and assistant to Isaac, and the son of_ _an immigrant family from China who came over when he was a baby, Chen Zudong, who served as the high cuisine chef to cater the appetites of the wealthier passengers. All men developed a great deal of respect and a good friendship with each other. The one man who earned their disdain as time went on though was their boss, Northwest._

 _As time went by, the train and the tracks themselves required regular upkeep to remain at their peak in terms of performance and safety, but ever the money-loving ego-maniac, Northwest would not concede to Isaac continually reporting via letters, telegrams, and sometimes even in person, always asking for better quality maintenance. The few times any work was done at all they were patch jobs at best, barely holding together for the next two trips. Never willing to spend the money needed to properly upkeep the business, Nathaniel Northwest merely kept counting his fortunes as the company deteriorated. Finally one morning after a particularly nasty torrential rain and lightning storm the previous night, the Gold Line was set to begin its first run of the day on tracks that were only barely cleaned of fallen debris from the forest. Isaac was more concerned about the state of the track itself and put in a request for a proper inspection to be made first. Northwest declined despite the station manager siding with Isaac, and demanded the train procced on time. Reluctantly the weary crew took off with a nearly full load of passengers in the cars. As the train moved on its standard route, it seemed as though fallen debris on the track remained the worst of the damage, the train's cowcatcher easily moving or breaking anything out of the way. Soon enough the train came into view of the bridge over the gorge that led into the valley that contained Gravity Falls. Everything changed right then and there._

 _The bridge was already in a sorry state, no real inspections or quality work done on it for years at this point. The storm the previous night was the final nail in the coffin, and just as the engine neared it the centermost section gave way, breaking apart and collapsing down to the forest below. Immediately recognizing the immense danger the entire train was in, Isaac took action in an instant inside the engine cab, Hugo at his side._

 _"_ _Activate the emergency brake, now!" Despite Hugo almost instantly pulling said brake and the engine wheels screeching to a halt, the pressure in the instrument was not nearly enough to stop the entire train in time. "Damn that Northwest! I told him these outdated second hand brakes would not make sufficient replacements for an engine of this size!" Isaac added as he quickly applied the standard brakes as well, and turned dials to decrease pressure in the boiler and with it, cut down more speed. Both Hudson and Zudong arrived at the tender, peering around it from their spot on the forward car to receive orders._

 _"_ _What would you have us do?!" Hudson called out. Isaac replayed commands to Hugo first before turning to face the other men._

 _"_ _Keep dropping boiler pressure! As for you two, evacuate the forward cars! Hurry!" The panicked passengers were quickly ushered out of the two forward cars, and Isaac at this point resorted to his last option. He sounded the whistle in four consecutive blasts signifying disaster was imminent and gave new orders to Hugo, "Cut the tender winch! The engine is pulling the rest of the train! Without it, it stands a chance of stopping!" At this point the train was nearing the start of the bridge, still going too fast to stop in time. Hugo complied and pulled the connector control, but the lock mechanism was jammed._

 _"_ _Boss! It won't work! I can't make it release!" Hugo shouted as he tried in vain to make the lever work by pulling it up and down repeatedly. Isaac tried the winch control for the tender only to find that it too was broken. Both Hudson and Zudong had returned after removing the passengers from the forward section. Isaac gave new instructions._

 _"_ _Release the winch to the third car! Even if we die, the passengers must live!" With only a moment of hesitation, both men did as they were instructed, and were successfully able to sever the link between the forward section and the rest of the train, leaving only the engine, tender, and two most forward cars barreling towards the edge, with all four crewmen still on them. Hudson and Zudong made their way around the tender and up to the engine cab, where Isaac and Hugo stood. Now crossing directly over the bridge, there was nowhere safe left within reach to jump. All of the men knew their situation was grim, but took solace as they saw the cars further back slowing at a faster pace now that they were freed, hinting the survival of their passengers._

 _"_ _Never thought it would end this way…" Hudson mused._

 _"_ _Gentlemen, you have been by my side on this train for a while now. Good times and bad. For what it's worth, there is no other crew I am more proud to lay down my life with." Isaac informed them with a sad smile._

 _"_ _Likewise, boss" Hugo returned the gesture._

 _"_ _Whatever lies ahead for us, we face it together." Zudong affirmed._

 _"_ _Agreed" Hudson added._

 _"_ _Then we continue this the way we started it, together" Isaac finished._

 _And with that, the engine toppled over the broken section of the bridge, followed by the tender and two forward cars, speed still too great for any of it to stop. The rest of the train came to a halt atop the bridge, sparing the passengers, men, women, and children who could only look out the windows in horror. The engine and the forward section fell face-first into the gorge, crashing into the forest floor. The engine exploded as they boiler burst upon impact, the fireball engulfing the tender and cars in the inferno. Broken pieces of metal and coal flew out in all directions, the blaze immense and leaving no chance for survival. And so the Coastal Express Railways Gold Line had fallen, taking her crew into the afterlife with her._

Will be continued soon…


	5. Chapter 5: Waiting for Better Days

Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

 _"_ _Tomorrow is what you make it"_

Chapter 5: Waiting for Better Days

Inside the engine cabin, Dipper and Pacifica were taking in the story just given to them by Isaac. It seemed unreal, but both of them knew at this point anything was possible in this town, and the blonde girl's ancestors more than once left misery, suffering, and death as the price of their greed. Pacifica spoke first once she collected her thoughts.

"I… can't believe it. Everyone would have died if you guys hadn't done what you did… and you still perished after doing something so selfless…"

"You guys are heroes" Dipper added. Isaac merely smirked.

"We aren't heroes, kid, we just did what we were supposed to do."

"Everyone worth their salt who signs up for a job at the railroad knows the job isn't without risk." Hugo informed the young duo.

"It shouldn't have to be a fatal risk, however." Zudong added.

"Northwest failed us with his decadence, and we paid the price." Hudson finished. Pacifica looked down, the guilt becoming too much for her to look them in the eyes. It was not her doing, but she felt a strong sense of self-disgust for what her ancestor allowed to happen to these men.

"I know it can't possibly mean anything after everything and all this time but… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for what my family did to you all. If I could go back in time and undo everything they did to everyone they wronged, I would…" Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

Dipper placed his hand on the blonde girl's shoulder, and Isaac did the same, both giving her a gentle smile. The ghostly engineer replied to her in a soft tone.

"It means more to us than you realize, miss. From what little I have been able to gather, you are different than what we knew of your family. Different than our boss."

"Like I said, it's not too late, Pacifica" Dipper added softly.

"My dad runs things right now, and he's no different than our ancestors were…"

"All that means is, it falls to you to end the cycle, change things for the better in your family." Hudson interjected.

"Remake them to something better" Hugo added.

"Make sure they do right so our tragedy will not be repeated." Zudong also added.

"Your genuine remorse gives us hope, miss. And that's all we wanted, to know that our deaths wouldn't remain something that left no impact, no change. Our boss brushed the whole thing aside and carried on with his routine, but you show in you the capacity to do better than he did. Than any of your family before you did." Isaac told her.

"Don't let us our deaths mean nothing any longer, let us be an example, a reminder of what happens when personal greed overrides the safety of others." Zudong added.

"Remember our story, miss, and don't let us be forgotten." Hudson asked of the girl.

"Don't let our sacrifice be repeated." Hugo added as well.

"Remember us, Pacifica Northwest… we will remember you and your friend here." Isaac finished.

"I will, I know we both will." Pacifica replied as she turned to Dipper.

"Certainly. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten again." The boy added. Both of them stood back up, helping each other onto their feet. Hudson escorted both kids back to their seats as the train neared the bridge, and this time, it crossed without incident, the whistle blasting off once again as it did so.

Soon to be concluded…


	6. Chapter 6: Whistles in the Wind

Mysteries of Gravity Falls: Ride of the Ghost Train

 _"_ _The route less traveled is sometimes the better route to take"_

Chapter 6: Whistles in the Wind

It was close to midnight now in the moon and starlight sky over Oregon. Dipper and Pacifica had reunited with the rest of their group and relayed to them everything that had transpired and what they had learned. The rest of the trip went without incident, but everyone in the group was shocked once again as the train pulled in to the station back at Gravity Falls, completely reverted back to the condition they originally discovered it in. As Hudson saw them off, Dipper couldn't help but voice his curiosity.

"How is that even possible?"

"It's best not to think about it" was the ghostly conductor's only reply.

The train set off once again into the night, leaving no trace of it behind once again. As Hugo shoveled coal into the boiler, he voiced his thoughts to Isaac.

"You think what happened means anything now, boss?"

"Nothing is certain, but we haven't had reason to look up in a while. The boy was right. It's not too late for things to change. Perhaps… now we can move on…" The engineer replied.

"Going toward the light never felt so good right now, to be honest." The mechanic mused.

"Indeed. Maybe it's time for this old gal to steam down a new set of tracks." Isaac declared with a smile. The Coastal Express Gold Line rolled off once more into the night, but this time a sense of peace guided the crew, as they all felt at ease for the first time since that fateful day over a century prior. The following day, Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Soos, and Pacifica all sat outside on the front porch of the Mystery Shack. Soos was amazed at the story they told him.

"Incredible, dudes. I always knew there had to be at least some truth to the story of the ghost train in this town."

"Definitely won't be writing off every myth as fictional anymore." Wendy mused with a smirk.

"It was major creepy, but also fun. Pretty much the story of the whole summer here, right bro-bro?" Mabel asked her brother with a grin, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you can say that again"

"That mess with the lumberjack, and now this with the ghost train, I am more convinced than ever guys. My family's history of doing wrong by others ends with me." Pacifica affirmed. Everyone smiled at her in reassurance.

"You won't have to make the change alone." Dipper told her reassuringly, and she returned the collective smile to the group. At that moment, all of them could swear they heard the faint whistle of a steam locomotive through the wind, as though a train was rolling down the tracks in the distance.

The End


End file.
